Families and the Gospel

I’m afraid today’s email has to be a little bit short.

We did not have a baptism in our area this week, but the work is still progressing well. We’ve had the privilege recently of teaching families instead of just individuals. It’s amazing how the Gospel can change the course of the individual family unit. We are teaching one family right now that fell in love with the church the first Sunday they attended. One problem – the husband loves to drink, and his friends love to give him drinks. Alcoholic drinks, just to clarify. During the week he’s sober and happy as a clam. But when the weekend hits, he’s out of the house and into the streets. The problem worries the mother, and she recognizes that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to help him change.

Wednesday we’ll be teaching the Plan of Salvation and the Word of Wisdom.

One of the crucial points of doctrine in this work is that God prepared a way for all of us to return to him as families. There is strength in the family, power in the bond between parent and child, and security in the marriage between husband and wife when it is built upon the sure foundation of the Gospel. Many sociologists and anthropologists look to the family as the barometer of society in general. Healthy and stable families make for stable societies. The family is the best place to learn and put in practice Christlike attributes of charity, patience, humility, and diligence. I think my Heavenly Father frequently that I have been given a stable family. I hope my work will create similar privileges for those we teach.